Second Best – My favorite Sophomore films: Part 2

If you missed part one, you can take a look at it here. Otherwise, let’s dive back into the list.

Rebooting Batman – Hypothetical Casting

There are going to be more Batman films; that’s a given. While it seems weird bringing up the subject so soon after the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s stunning trilogy, in a year, maybe two, audiences are going to be hankering for some serious Bat-action. If the release of The Amazing Spider-Man and next year’s Man of Steel tell us anything, it’s that the masses don’t care about reboots. They want superheroes on-screen as long as filmmakers can offer the goods. But, where do we go from here? The answer: anywhere.

Batman Born Again – Top 6 Potential Reboot Stories

One of the spectacular aspects of Christopher Nolan’s Batman saga is how rewarding it is for Batman fans who are well-versed in Batman comic book lore. Nolan and his writers draw upon dozens of great moments, themes, concepts, and set-pieces from various comic stories to build an incredible single story. For example, The Dark Knight was a delicious blend consisting of parts of the 1996 maxiseries Batman: The Long Halloween, the Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers run on Detective Comics in the 1970s, the 2003 comic series Gotham Central, and, crazily enough, a lot of 1940′s Batman #1!

However, outside of WB/DC’s direct-to-DVD animated features, there have not been any direct adaptations of a Batman comic or series. Now that Nolan is finished, Warner Bros. is guaranteed to go back to the DC Comics well and try to mine some new gold. The wonderful thing about Batman is that he can fit into any genre, any tone and the character will always work. He’s just that great. WB will probably try to stay within the tone of what has worked so well over the decade, the dark, realistic Bat-world. I doubt they are going to change much. I say, let’s look at some other stories in the Bat-canon that would not only make potentially fantastic movies, but also spur the powers that be to think outside the box a little when it comes to the Caped Crusader.

The Trouble with Quibbles: The Dark Knight Rises – Part 2

The quibbling continues as Bryan and I discuss our feelings about The Dark Knight Rises. If you haven’t already, be sure to read part 1 of this Quibble.

The Trouble with Quibbles: The Dark Knight Rises – Part 1

I’ve been wrestling with the anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises on an ever-increasing level over the last few years. Until a few weeks ago, it was a gradual thing, nothing too grand, but then we got to July and with the film only weeks away, I kinda lost it. I went batty. Prepping for Shooting the Script’s Batman coverage only exacerbated things. I gave in and have been on a Bat-binge for the last three weeks. This exponential increase in eagerness to see the film combined with the events surrounding the release of The Dark Knight Rises has been overwhelming. When I finally saw the film it was less like entertainment and more like treatment… like getting my fix… like something I had to do… like a release… of all this pent up eagerness mixed with anxiety. It was a very bizarre movie-going experience. It’s strange how ridiculous the simple act of going to see a movie became. It’s only a movie. Still, something about Christopher Nolan’s trilogy–and Batman in general–has given us a lot to talk about.

Bat Out of Development Hell – Part 3: Requiem for a Bat

In 2000, the frenzy that followed the release of X-Men had studios buying up any comic book property they could get their hands on and putting those titles into production before the ink was dry. And the heads at Warner Brothers did something a bit unfounded; they would develop multiple story ideas, which would eventually lead to the rebirth of the prized Batman franchise. They could have continued to build upon the previous films. A script was already ordered for Batman Triumphant (aka Batman 5) and George Clooney was contracted to play Bruce Wayne again. Or, they could go in a new direction, a vastly different direction.

If I Were King of the Oscars…

You’ve seen the Oscars, I listed my top ten, now it’s time for my nominations. Some of these the Academy got right, others not so much. Here is what my personal ballot for 2010 would look like.

The Trouble with Quibbles: 2011 Oscars

It’s that time of year again, Oscar season. Bryan is a bundle of nerves, bursting with fruit-flavor and jonesing for any and all obscure nominations he can find, like a junkie going through withdrawals. I can just picture him now, mouth agape in abject terror as he sits in front of his computer, desperately trolling the interwebs for that last short that’s alluded him. And I take comfort in that. Is that wrong?

10 Quick Thoughts on Oscar Nods

I’m sure everyone has heard by now that Academy Award nominations were announced today, so I thought I’d list a few things that I found agreeable and a few I did not. A few notes before I start. This list is mostly for surprises so I’m not going to waste time expounding about Christian Bale’s much deserved first nomination or how mediocre The Kids Are All Right really is because it was widely expected that they would be nominated. Also, I have not seen everything (yet…although I don’t know if I’ll make time for Country Strong), so make of that what you will. If you want the best online awards coverage I suggest you check out In Contention. In the meantime, here are my two cents.

Top Twenty of the Decade #2

Leonard: I can’t remember to forget you

My Favorite Films of the Last Decade #5

Alfred Pennyworth: …some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

Top 10 Trailers – 2010

Think of this as a companion piece to my previous poster list. My top ten movies list is still forthcoming, so in the meantime I’ve compiled the ten previews that stood out this year. I watch a lot of trailers, and wouldn’t you know it, my day job is writing and creating trailers. So, you might say I know what I’m talking about (wow, can’t say that too often). The best trailers stand out from the pack, don’t spoil the movie, and most of all, make you want to see the picture. A few of these have some wonderful copy and structure, but really most of these trailers work so well because of their music selection, wonderful editing, and usually some decent source material.

One note, these are trailers for films released in 2010, so no Tree of Life or Cowboys and Aliens. And just like with the posters, I’ll keep comments to a minimum and let the clips do the talking.

Top Twenty of the Decade #9 & 10

Batman: Do I look like a Cop?!
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Joker: I think you and I are destined to do this forever

The Trouble with Quibbles: Inception

I must preface this quibble with two warnings: 1) This film is far too dense to truly quibble about in one go, so I’m sure there are things we’ve left out, gleaned over, or touched on far too briefly, which might lead to the first multi-part quibble. We’ll see. 2) There be yon spoilers, but not for a bit. So, even if you haven’t seen Inception, you can read on, to a point. I’ll warn you again when we get to spoiler territory. Seriously though, you should go see this film… a sci-fi thriller from the acclaimed director of The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and Memento… what more do you need?

With Inception, Christopher Nolan offers a cinematic breath of fresh air in a summer blockbuster season chock full o’ watered-down remakes, superfluous video games adaptations, bedazzled vampires, and formulaic tent-pole franchises. Nolan’s mind-bending thriller is a wonderfully original blend of action and intrigue. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team of dream extractors, composed of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Dileep Rao, are presented with an even more challenging task than their typical dream extraction, planting an idea deep enough within a subjects subconscious that it redefines them.

Xavier Institute 10-Year Reunion

We are gathered here today to recognize the 10th anniversary of Bryan Singer’s X-Men. It was this very month that the comic book genre was kick-started, ushering in a decade overflowing with billions of dollars worth of attention paid to one of the toughest crowds ever in the history of entertainment: the nerd.